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Although out
of date as 'news', these items are retained on the website because
of the information they contain.
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OLD
NEWS ITEMS |
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Olympic flame |
Passing through Oldbury |
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Langley Distillery |
Fire and history |
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Jack Judge House |
Opening of building, March 1011 |
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Old Court House |
Interior and history of building, dating from 1816 |
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Fire
at Langley Maltings |
130
year old buildings under threat after a fire |
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The
Pauper Memorial |
The
unveiling of the memorial on 21st November 2008 |
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The
Bells will ring out |
Appeal
for Christchurch bells - now operational again |
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Worcestershire
Regimental Museum |
Details
of display on the regiment's history |
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St
Michael & All Angels, Langley |
Threat
to church building after closure |
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Mortuary
Chapel, Oldbury Cemetery |
Demolition
of last mortuary chapel |
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Sale of St
Michael & All Angels, Langley |
Handover to Iglesia ni Cristo |
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OLYMPIC FLAME PASSES THROUGH OLDBURY
History does not only relate to things in the distant past, it is being created continuously. On Saturday 30th June 2012 the Olympic flame passed through Oldbury and was greeted by a large and enthusiastic crowd. Even the weather was welcoming!
This was the first time the Olympic flame had made such a journey around the British Isles, and Oldbury may never see its return - so it was a brief, unique moment in history.
The torch bearer in the picture was John Ovis, a South African from Bitterfontein, seen here in Church Street passing the Waggon and Horses and Sandwell Council House. |
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The disastrous fire at Alcohols Ltd, Crosswells Road, Langley, on Monday 26th November has left many local residents counting the cost and their homes and cars were damaged by the intense heat of the fire. 200 people were evacuated, many to Moat Farm Junior School, and 100 fire-fighters tackled the blaze at its height. Photographs and a video have been posted on our associated Facebook site, and illustrate the advantage of this site for quickly covering such events.
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The pictures above were taken by local residents showing the fire at its height.
A few days later the flames were out, and just the shell of the building remained. |
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The buildings in the 1970s
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According to the Midland Chronicle 30 April 1920, " 'The Langley Distillery, Ltd' has been formed with a capital of £50,000 to carry on at Langley Green, nr Birmingham, and elsewhere the business of distillers, rectifiers, refiners of spirit, wine and spirit merchants, brewers, licenced victuallers, etc. " It goes on to list the seven directors, the nearest living in Wolverhampton, so it was not a local initiative.
At its heart was the manufacture of gin, a process carried out in part of the original brewery, built by Walter Showell in the 1870s. Some of the stills are over a hundred years old, but the youngest, 'Jenny', was opened a mere twenty years ago. This was not the part of the factory destroyed in the presentfire.
The original brewery buildings were badly damaged by fire between the wars, so the dangers of handling alcohols was experienced then. In those days the company had its own fire engine, 'Lillian' and fire brigade The Maltings in Western Road were also damaged by fire in 1925, so the site is no stranger to a blaze.
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The core of the business has been the production of gin by diluting the concentrated spirit with water and blending the 'botanicals' required to give the particular flavour of the brand. These include such ingredients as juniper berries from Italy and the Balkans, coriander seeds from southeast Europe and North Africa, angelica root from France and Germany, lemon and orange peel from Iberia, orris root powder from Italy and liquorice, almond and cassia bark from Asia. Some brands have other secret ingredients, and in some cases the full recipe would be known to only a few employees.
Three of the brands produced at Langley were Martin Miller's Westbourne Gin, Sportsman Gin and London Dry Gin, and Langley Gin.. Sortsman Gin was advertised in bars in the 1930s with colourful painted metal sports scenes and bottle labels which announced The Langley Distillery, Ltd. Langley Gin was promoted with beermats!
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The present owners do much more than distill gin and vodka: they produce alcohol-based products for a wide range of industries and products, including: specialist solvents, inks, coatings, perfumes, flavours, toiletries, cosmetics and automotive products such as screenwash. |
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THE
OPENING OF 'JACK JUDGE HOUSE'
The
official opening of Jack Judge House took place on Thursday
24th March 2011 by the Mayor of Sandwell, Cllr Pauline Hinton |
Adrian
Holmes, Sandwell's Town Crier, announces the opening
of Jack Judge House. |
The
Mayor of Sandwell, Cllr Pauline Hinton, cuts the ribbon
to open the building, assisted by Jack's two great great
grandchildren, Hannah and Connor Nicklin. |
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The
Mayor and Town Crier with the Nicklin family, Jack Judge's
irect descendants. |
Cllr
Mahboob Hussain opens Oldbury Library |
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The new building
in Halesowen Street, Oldbury, comprises council offices and a new
library for Oldbury. It is built on the site of shops that were
bombed in WW2 or demolished in the 1970s, and, for a while, the
location of Oldbury bus station.
There's
no excuse for not visiting - the crossing leads right there! |
The building
is named after John Thomas Judge, 'Jack', Judge, born into an Irish
family living in Low Town in December 1872. Jack became a local
entertainer, and later toured the country as a variety artist, singing,
whistling and telling jokes - a typical act of the time. Jack's
name is known worldwide as the composer of 'Its a long, long
way to Tipperary', a song that became famous when it was taken
up by Allied soldiers in WW1.
Apart from a
bench near the Council House, this building is the first significant
public recognition of Jack Judge in his home town. The entrance
to the building includes a plaque with a short biography of Jack
and a picture of him.
The
new library has a large meeting room with exhibition cases for displaying
items on the history of Oldbury, Langley and Warley. Exhibitions
will be arranged by the local history societies in the area: the
first exhibition features Jack Judge. This room will become
the new home for Oldbury Local History Group, whose meetings are
at 2.45 on the third Tuesday of each month.
Article
on the Life and Music of Jack Judge
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THE
OLD COURTHOUSE
Oldbury
Library has moved from the old courthouse, which dates from
1816, when it was a debtor's prison. It was subsequently used
as a county court, a magistrates' court, and, for much of
the twentieth century, as the police station for Oldbury.
[See its history].
New jail
cells and and exercise yard were built for the police and
to serve the magistrates' court around 1905, when the police
station moved into the ground floor below the court. An additional
administrative building was added at the same time. These
are important buildings in the history of Oldbury, and much
of the fabric remains, as shown below.
The
Magistrates Court
The
Jail
The original
debtors' prison of 1816 was very primitive, and was upgraded
around 1850 (see article).
The area under the first-floor court became Oldbury Police
Station early in the 20th century, and the jail that remains
today is the police cells. These were joined to the court
by an internal corridor.
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The
jail cells with the high solid wall of the exercise
yard. These are directly connected to the court
by steps which the accused would have climbed to
learn his fate. [Photo:
April 2011, Dr Terry Daniels] |
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Oldbury's
derelict jail in April 2011. The top pictures
show the linking steps between the cells on the
right and the courthouse, upstairs of the left.
The exercise yard was enclosed by a high wall,
with a barred top.
The
cells were 'minimalist' in construction, with
a wooden bed, a toilet, and a barred window. The
cell corridor shows the supports for the water
cisterns that operated the toilets in the cells,
The lights in each cell were also controlled from
here. There is another cell at the end of the
corridor separated from the others by an additional
barred door - was this for extra security or women
prisoners? The doors were of solid construction.
At least one key was not 'thrown away'. [Photos:
Dr Terry Daniels] |
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LANGLEY
MALTINGS
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On the evening
of 8th September 2009 fire broke out in the derelict Maltings in
Western Road, Langley. Half of the roof of the grade two listed
building was destroyed before the fire was put out, and three of
its characteristic outlet towers were destroyed. So, another iconic building
in the history of Oldbury is damaged or lost.
The maltings
were erected by Walter Showell around 1880 on the side of the Titford
Canal to supply malt to his new 'Crosswells Brewery' a hundred yards
away across the railway line. This was one of the largest breweries
in the area, and Showell's Ales were distributed throughout the
Midlands. Local barley was used in the malting process, supplemented
with grain brought in by barge and, later, by railway.
Malting ceased
in 2006, and the building was sold by its owners,Wolverhampton and
Dudley Breweries, in 2007, since when it has been allowed to deteriorate.
It was one of the last maltings to still use the traditional 'floor'
malting process: the grains of barley were steeped in water and
then spread over the floor of the maltings, the mass being frequently
turned to permit even germination. At the end of the twentieth century,
there were only five maltings in the country still using this process.
It is a striking
building, rising from the side of the canal, the water at the base
of its walls, and a feature of the canal walk from Oldbury locks
to Titford Pool. This was not its first major fire. On 25th September
1925 the maltings caught fire and half of the building destroyed.
Added hazards in 1925 were the location of the Shell-Mex petroleum
tanks next to the maltings, and tar wagons in the railway yard opposite:
both long since gone. On that occasion,the maltings were part of
a commercially successful operation, and were quickly rebuilt. Their
future now is much less certain, but it is to be hoped that they
can be retained and a new use found for them.
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The
maltings today |
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Inspecting the
scene after the fire, 10th September 2009
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Photos:
Dr Terry Daniels |
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Happier
times - a picnic in front of the maltings at a recent BCN Rally |
Photo:
Dr Terry Daniels |
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The maltings
and the Shell-Mex storage tanks in the 1920s, before the first fire
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'BLESSED
ARE THE POOR' - THE PAUPER MEMORIAL UNVEILED
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On an otherwise
cold and grey day, weak sunlight greeted the unveiling of the Pauper
Memorial in Heath Lane Cemetery, West Bromwich on Friday 21st November
2008. It was symbolic of the light and warmth they seldom found
in life once the stigma of poverty and pauperism had struck them.
Why is this
relevant to Oldbury? The pauper buried in unmarked graves were those
from the workhouse for the West Bromwich Poor Law Union, which included
Oldbury, Langley and Warley. Some of the paupers will have come
from Oldbury.
The memorial
at last gives recogition to the hundreds interred in the green spaces
of the cemetery - it was illegal to add a headstone to a pauper's
grave. It has been carved in grey granite in India, and shows a
pauper family, the father and mother bowed down, but the child looking
up, perhaps in hope.
It is estimated
that 2,500 paupers are interred in the cemetery, many of them in
mass graves, but there are no records of who was buried in any particular
plot. The memorial will provide a focus for those wishing to pay
their respects.
More information:
www.westbrompaupers.org.uk
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These
photographs show Professor Carl Chinn addressing the crowd before
the unveiling, the unveiling by Carl Chinn and the Mayor of Sandwell,
Cllr Bob Price, and the blessing of the memorial by the Vicar of All
Saints Church, West Bromwich. ----------- ----------------------[Photographs:
Terry Daniels] |
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THE
BELLS WILL RING OUT
Note:
there is a more detailed article on Christchurch Clock and Bells
on the main website, together with a recording of the bells at their
opening ceremony after restoration.
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Christchurch in the October sunshine
flying the Sandwell Flag for Mayor's Sunday [Photo:
Terry Daniels] |
You
may have noticed that the clock in the
tower of Christchurch
, Oldbury has been striking the
hours again for some months. A new clock is linked to one of the
bells in the tower with a striking mechanism.
New striking mechanisms have been
added now to all of the eight bells so that the bells can be rung
electonically for local and national celebrations, and strike the
Westminster
chimes on the quarter hours during
the day. They
should burst into life shortly!
The
peal of eight bells was originally installed in 1887 to mark Queen
Victoria's Golden Jubilee following generous donations of the eight
bells and a public subscription which raised £320 for the work,
The tower had to be raised by 16 feet (5 metres) to accommodate
the bell chamber, which is why the brickwork for the top section
of the tower does not match that of the lower part. The bells were
originally swung from a ringing chamber below the bell chamber,
but, following the alterations to the church in the 1990s, this
area now houses the central heating for the building, and the tower
is deemed to be too weak to swing the bells anyway.
A
clock was installed four years later which struck the hours and
played the Cambridge (or Westminster) chimes on the quarters - the
original clock has long gone, but the dial and hands remain, operated
by a modern mechanism.
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The
inside of the tower showing the No 7 bell
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Tenor
bell showing the mechanism for swinging the bell and the original
striking mechanism for the 1890 clock.
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The
original clockface and the recently installed clock mechanism.
Photographs: Terry Daniels, October 2008
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THE
WORCESTERSHIRE REGIMENTAL MUSEUM
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Members of Langley
Local History Society visited the Worcestershire Regimental Museum in September. This followed a
talk by John Lowles earlier in the year on the history of the regiment,
in particular the history of the Oldbury Volunteers. The Volunteers
existed from 1860 to 1908, when they were disbanded on the inauguration
of the Territorial Army.
The story of the Oldbury
Volunteers is available as an Adobe Acrobat file.
The museum traces
the history of the regiment from its inception as the Farrington's
Regiment of Foot in 1694 to the latest action of the Worcestershire
and Sherwood Foresters Regiment. Members of the society were impressed
by the displays and recommend a visit.
The Worcestershire
Regiment Museum
is open Monday to Saturday at The Worcester City Museum and Art Gallery, Foregate Street, Worcester, WR1 1DT
Regimental Museum website: http://www.worcestercitymuseums.org.uk/coll/worcs/worcind.htm
The Bugle presented
to the Oldbury Volunteers by the Ladies of Oldbury in 1860
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Oldbury Volunteers
who served in the Boer War 1900-1901
A volunteer's uniform from the 1880s
Photographs: Terry Daniels, 2008
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FACING
DEMOLITION - ST MICHAEL AND ALL ANGELS, LANGLEY
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The church of St Michael and All Angels at Causeway Green Road, Langley Green was the parish church for
Langley from 1890, replacing the smaller
Trinity Church, Langley. Recently, with falling congregations,
it proved impossible to maintain the fabric of this large late-Victorian
church, and, after due process, it closed this year. The last service
was held on 1st July 2007, ironically as always on these occasions,
with a large congregation of people associated with the church across
the years, but no longer attending!
The Birmingham
Diocese has been unable to find a purchaser for the building to
date, and it is now likely that the building, at the heart of the
Langley community for nearly a century,
will be demolished.
The building contains
many interesting features, including a Nicolson organ, tablets and
memorial stones to leaders of the Langley area, and several fine stained
glass windows. These windows are of concern to local people and
Langley Local History Society.
One is a fine
window dedicated to Gladys Pryor, the daughter of the Vicar, who
died at the age of twelve in 1900. This was made by the Camm studio
in Smethwick, and includes Gladys as one of
the children gathered at the feet of Christ.
The east window
contains a fine crucifixion panel showing Mary, St John and Mary Magdalene at the foot
of the cross. There is also a three-light window in memory of Mary
Amphlett, with the pastoral theme of Christ the Good Shepherd, and
a modern baptistry window showing the progress of the soul from
conception to rest in heaven.
Of particular
concern are the two war memorial windows commemorating the dead
of Langley in the Great War. The main window
depicts in its three lights St George, Faith and Hope. It also lists
the names of sixty-four men of the parish who died in the Great
War, the only public record of these men. The second window commemorates
Cecil Percy William Lloyd, who was associated with the church, and
was killed on the Somme in 1916.
Langley
Local History Society accepts that the closure of such buildings
may be inevitable when they are no longer viable, and takes no view
on the decision for closure itself. It is concerned, however, that
the historic fabric is preserved and adequately protected during
the period when the building is not in use, and suitably re-sited
following any decision to demolish the building.
Colour
photographs: Dr Terry Daniels, 2005
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St
Michael's Church and Schools, 1900s
The
nave and sanctuary of St Michael and All Angels Church
Detail
of the Gladys Pryor window
The
Langley War Memorial window
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DEMOLISHED
- THE MORTUARY CHAPEL IN ROOD END CEMETERY
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The
remaining mortuary chapel in Oldbury Cemetery, Rood End has been demolished. This
was a lovely building with polychrome brickwork erected when the
cemetery was opened in 1857 by the Oldbury Burial Board. The cemetery
originally featured two chapels, the one just demolished on the
'unconsecrated' side of the road, and a similar chapel taken down
many years ago on the Anglican 'consecrated' side. The chapel had
been neglected for many years, becoming no more than a splendid
pigeon house. Nevertheless, it is a pity such a fine building of
historic interest had to be pulled down.
Langley
Local History Society did manage to save a blue, a red and a yellow
brick from the chapel, and two souvenirs, the carved faces of a
man and a woman which were sited on the outside of the east window.
These were blackened after 150 years in Oldbury's industrial atmosphere,
and slightly damaged on removal, but they will be restored as a
reminder of the old mortuary chapels.
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The
chapel awaiting demolition, autumn 2007 [Photo:
Terry Daniels]
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-Coffin
carrier used in the cemetery in former times
[Photo: Janet Smith]
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Leaders of the Birmingham Diocese and Iglesia ni Cristo after the Sale of the building
Photo: Birmingham Diocese
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The church of St Michael and All Angels at Langley Green closed in 2007, and the building was sold to the Phillipines-based church Iglesia Ni Cristo at the beginning of April 2014. The building swarmed with builders and underwent an internal transformation that simplified the interior to suit the style of worship and belief. All stained glass, tablets and the WW1 memorial cross have been removed.
The exterior of the building has been cleaned, the stonework repaired, and the roof tiled in the original shade (long since blackened by Oldbury's atmosphere). The building looks a sparkling gem.
Exterior and interior photographs of Iglesia ni Cristo on their open day in September. The new pews had not been installed at that time. Some of the original carved wood behind the St Michael's altar has been retained, albeit without the carved symbols. The interior is plainer and simpler, but much of the original structure remians.
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